Walking Tall: A Bosco Cruz Story
by Cuddy Cabin
Summary: Bosco and Cruz have been together for a year and he is ready for the next step..but is she? As she struggles with a secret it is up to Bosco to find out what is going on before it's too late.
1. One

Disclaimer: I don't own Third Watch and I am not making money from this. This is my disclaimer for the entire story...I'm not doing it every single chapter. I have decided to do another Bosco and Cruz story because I have finally figured out that they really do have in interesting history together. I am starting to turn toward the shipperness of the two...what can I say?

**Walking Tall: A Bosco/Cruz Story**

"If I told you I loved you, what would you say? Would you laugh in my face or would your eyes well up with tears as you took my hand into your own and said the words that you have been meaning to say for so long?" An overly dressed male said to his female companion, running his hand over her cheek.

I rolled my eyes as I flipped through the channels trying to find something to watch. I had come across an incredibly cheezy soap opera, the kind that makes you want to puke as you watch the people on it ruin their lives and the lives of everyone around them. It was always so sappy and unbelievable and I didn't understand how people could spend every day watching them.

I was so bored, so tired of sitting around my apartment all day and watching tv and waiting for Maritza to come home from work. I had been shot in the stomach exactly four weeks to the day and had been at home recuperating ever since. I looked around my livingroom and settled my eyes on a picture that had been taken of me and my girl at the Christmas party the year before. Ritza had it blown up so it fit into an eight by ten frame which she had hung above the mantle over the fireplace. In it we were sitting at a table, side by side with our arms around each other. We were both smiling and you could see the love in both of our eyes.

It was hard to imagine that we had been together for over a year now. It seemed to me that the longer I lived _with _her, the more I knew I couldn't live _without_ her. She was a very complicated woman, very independent and hard on the outside, but inside, the woman I saw was someone who wanted love and plenty of it. She was tough and fearless in her job as a Sargent at the 55th precinct; not backing down from anything, not taking any crap from anyone, including me.

I chuckled to myself as I remembered her words from that morning, "Bosco, don't think for one minute that I don't know what you're planning to do when I go to work today." She'd pointed her finger at me as she pulled on her black short sleeved vest and zipped it up.

"And what would that be?" I teased her from my spot on our old warn out brown leather couch.

"Do I even have to say it?"

"Say what?" I grinned.

"Let's see...first you are gonna go have a shower" She said, counting on her fingers. "And then you're gonna call Davis to come and get you on his dinner break...and then you're gonna get him to take you to Haggerty's to get a greasy burger and fries..." She accused me, a tiny smile playing about her pouty lips.

I opened my mouth to protest as she came over to me and leaned down and kissed my lips. I could smell her perfume, the kind that smelled like cotton candy, as she carefully sat down beside me and took my hand into hers.

'Baby, you know what Dr. Morales said about you eating greasy stuff. It could give you an ulcer and it would set you back for weeks. Is that what you want?"

I rolled my eyes in mock dispute and crossed my arms over my chest. "Nooooo...it's not what I want but I need to get out of here and do something...can't you talk to Swersky about me ridin a desk for the next couple of weeks..." I begged, pouting my bottom lip toward her.

She smiled and brushed her long dark hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. "You only have two more weeks of being home, Bosco...enjoy it while you can." She leaned in for one more kiss and then stood up and grabbed the keys to my Mustang from the coffee table and dangled them in front of me, an evil grin on her face.

"I'll take these...just to be sure that you don't get any _ideas_."

I started to sit up but a pain shot through my lower abdomen and I clenched my teeth together. "Just don't ruin her...that's all I ask, Ritza." I groaned.

"See what I mean? Please stay in bed today and I'll be home at about seven to get you something to eat."

"Great...just what I need...soup and crackers." I grumbled, settling back down and trying to ignore the pain which was far greater than I ever let on."

"Maurice...just stay in bed. I'll be back in a bit." She said and pulled the blue and white striped knit blanket up around my chin.

She had used my first name. She only did that when I was being impossible or when she was really annoyed. Either way, I decided to placate her for the time being.

'Okay, okay. I'll rest. I'm kinda tired anyway." I lied, hoping that she'd buy it.

"That's a good boy. I'll see you later." She said, as if she were my mother. She blew me a kiss and headed out the door.

As soon as she was gone, I reached for the remote and began to flip through the channels and eventually dozed off for an hour or so. When I awoke, I glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearly five. Ty was going to be here any minute.

Carefully, I peeled the blanket back and got up off the couch and walked down the hall into our bedroom and grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

I knew I was breaking my promise to her, but it couldn't be helped. Ty was going to be here any minute and I couldn't accomplish what I had to do without him. Without another thought of how she would be worried about me if she came home and found me gone, or anything else, I put on my Nike's and a ball cap and went down stairs to wait for my friend.


	2. Two

Disclaimer: I don't own Third Watch and I am not making money from this. This is my disclaimer for the entire story...I'm not doing it every single chapter. I have decided to do another Bosco and Cruz story because I have finally figured out that they really do have in interesting history together. I am starting to turn toward the shipperness of the two...what can I say?

**Walking Tall: A Bosco/Cruz Story**

"If I told you I loved you, what would you say? Would you laugh in my face or would your eyes well up with tears as you took my hand into your own and said the words that you have been meaning to say for so long?" An overly dressed male said to his female companion, running his hand over her cheek.

I rolled my eyes as I flipped through the channels trying to find something to watch. I had come across an incredibly cheezy soap opera, the kind that makes you want to puke as you watch the people on it ruin their lives and the lives of everyone around them. It was always so sappy and unbelievable and I didn't understand how people could spend every day watching them.

I was so bored, so tired of sitting around my apartment all day and watching tv and waiting for Maritza to come home from work. I had been shot in the stomach exactly four weeks to the day and had been at home recuperating ever since. I looked around my livingroom and settled my eyes on a picture that had been taken of me and my girl at the Christmas party the year before. Ritza had it blown up so it fit into an eight by ten frame which she had hung above the mantle over the fireplace. In it we were sitting at a table, side by side with our arms around each other. We were both smiling and you could see the love in both of our eyes.

It was hard to imagine that we had been together for over a year now. It seemed to me that the longer I lived _with _her, the more I knew I couldn't live _without_ her. She was a very complicated woman, very independent and hard on the outside, but inside, the woman I saw was someone who wanted love and plenty of it. She was tough and fearless in her job as a Sargent at the 55th precinct; not backing down from anything, not taking any crap from anyone, including me.

I chuckled to myself as I remembered her words from that morning, "Bosco, don't think for one minute that I don't know what you're planning to do when I go to work today." She'd pointed her finger at me as she pulled on her black short sleeved vest and zipped it up.

"And what would that be?" I teased her from my spot on our old warn out brown leather couch.

"Do I even have to say it?"

"Say what?" I grinned.

"Let's see...first you are gonna go have a shower" She said, counting on her fingers. "And then you're gonna call Davis to come and get you on his dinner break...and then you're gonna get him to take you to Haggerty's to get a greasy burger and fries..." She accused me, a tiny smile playing about her pouty lips.

I opened my mouth to protest as she came over to me and leaned down and kissed my lips. I could smell her perfume, the kind that smelled like cotton candy, as she carefully sat down beside me and took my hand into hers.

'Baby, you know what Dr. Morales said about you eating greasy stuff. It could give you an ulcer and it would set you back for weeks. Is that what you want?"

I rolled my eyes in mock dispute and crossed my arms over my chest. "Nooooo...it's not what I want but I need to get out of here and do something...can't you talk to Swersky about me ridin a desk for the next couple of weeks..." I begged, pouting my bottom lip toward her.

She smiled and brushed her long dark hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. "You only have two more weeks of being home, Bosco...enjoy it while you can." She leaned in for one more kiss and then stood up and grabbed the keys to my Mustang from the coffee table and dangled them in front of me, an evil grin on her face.

"I'll take these...just to be sure that you don't get any _ideas_."

I started to sit up but a pain shot through my lower abdomen and I clenched my teeth together. "Just don't ruin her...that's all I ask, Ritza." I groaned.

"See what I mean? Please stay in bed today and I'll be home at about seven to get you something to eat."

"Great...just what I need...soup and crackers." I grumbled, settling back down and trying to ignore the pain which was far greater than I ever let on."

"Maurice...just stay in bed. I'll be back in a bit." She said and pulled the blue and white striped knit blanket up around my chin.

She had used my first name. She only did that when I was being impossible or when she was really annoyed. Either way, I decided to placate her for the time being.

'Okay, okay. I'll rest. I'm kinda tired anyway." I lied, hoping that she'd buy it.

"That's a good boy. I'll see you later." She said, as if she were my mother. She blew me a kiss and headed out the door.

As soon as she was gone, I reached for the remote and began to flip through the channels and eventually dozed off for an hour or so. When I awoke, I glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearly five. Ty was going to be here any minute.

Carefully, I peeled the blanket back and got up off the couch and walked down the hall into our bedroom and grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

I knew I was breaking my promise to her, but it couldn't be helped. Ty was going to be here any minute and I couldn't accomplish what I had to do without him. Without another thought of how she would be worried about me if she came home and found me gone, or anything else, I put on my Nike's and a ball cap and went down stairs to wait for my friend.


	3. Three

**Walking Tall: A Bosco/Cruz Story - Chapter Three**

After getting out the money from the atm machine, Ty and I drove toward Bondt's Jewellery Store in Manhattan. It was very upscale and very expensive. I really couldn't afford it, but I wanted to get Maritza a ring that would show her just how much she meant to me.

I had discussed my plan with Ty more than once but he really wouldn't offer much of an opinion on the subject. The only thing he would say was 'Are you sure, man?' I knew where his reservations came from; from the fact that Maritza wasn't exactly the most honest cop on the force and because of her reputation as a woman who wasn't above planting evidence when she had to, to get a scum bag off the street. Since working Anti-Crime with her for the last year, I understood and actually didn't see what was wrong with her tactics. Sometimes you had to go above and beyond in order to get what you needed. After all, what was wrong with planting a little coke in the pocket of a murderer or a serial rapist?

However reserved Ty was about my asking Maritza to marry me, he hid it well as we walked into the posh store and started to look at different rings. I had fifteen hundred dollars in my pocket and it was almost burning a hole in my jeans, I was so excited. A very pretty young lady with long black hair, dressed in a black pantsuit came over to us and asked if we needed any help. Ty looked at me and grinned.

'Help? He could definitely use some of that." He said wagging his eyebrows. "Miss...?" He fished for her name.

"Joyce. Joyce MacAvee". She said shyly, giving him a blushing smile. "Are you looking for a gift for your girlfriend or wife?"

"No..not me. No wife..and no girlfriend." Ty said smoothly.

I rolled my eyes and continued to look upon the opulent display cases. These rings were totally out of my price range! The cheapest one was a thousand dollars...what was I gonna do? Get her a ring from a bubble gum machine?

I moved on down the row of rings and earrings until I came to a smaller display case that held about twenty different kinds. Each of them were two karats and all in different shapes and in handsome settings. A beautiful ring on the end caught my eye. It was in a white gold setting and it had one large diamond with two smaller diamonds on each side. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the ring I had given Maritza for her birthday so I could find out the size of her finger.

I looked toward Joyce to get some help but she was still talking up a storm with Ty. He was leaning over the counter and speaking in a low voice but whatever he was saying was making her blush and she threw back her head and laughed. Ever since Ty and Sasha had broken up, he had been on a tear, seeing as many different women as he could get his hands on, and that was a lot. He had a broken heart, that much was easy to see and even though she was pregnant with his child, he still refused to speak to her or even acknowledge her presence. Different times I had tried to talk to him about it but he wouldn't even broach the subject with me. He'd talk to me when he was ready, I thought to myself.

A little annoyed by her lack of help, I continued to look around the store. It really was a nice place, with its French Provincial furniture with matching peach silk fabric and wall to wall mirrors. The whole place was tastefully and richly decorated. The carpet was a baige cream color and it was plush and thick as I walked on it.

As I was looking into one of the cases a door from behind the counter opened and a small man stepped through. He was in his late fifties, I guessed, with short, almost balding, gray hair. He had on a black suit with a very tasteful wine stripped tie. He wore a pair of wire-rimmed glasses and had a pair of very deep blue eyes that pierced right through me as I glanced up at him. He flashed a quick smile at me and looked over at the clerk who was supposed to be helping me, but was flirting with a New York City Policeman instead.

He cleared his throat and continued to stare in her direction. Ty straitened up and gave a nod in his direction. Joyce turned around and smiled weakly at her boss.

"Mr. Ryder, I was just..." She began, nervously, bringing her hands up to her long golden necklace that she began to finger.

'Wait on the customer, Joyce. It's not hard to do." He said curtly, giving her a reprimanding look.

As if a pail of cold ice water had been thrown onto my face, I lifted my head and turned toward him, feeling very week in the knees.

I felt my heart constrict and then start to beat wildly at the sound of his voice. It was very familiar to me. I looked over at him as he passed me by, my thoughts running a mile a minute. I felt all panicky and cold. Could this possibly be the man who had imprisoned me for three long weeks?

He opened the door and gave me another quick smile before dissapearing through. Before I could think about it, Joyce came over to me and turned her full attention on me.

"Can I help you find anything, sir?" She asked, looking like a school girl who had been reprimanded and had lost her recess.

I pointed toward the ring I had seen. "That one. Can you tell me if it's the same size as this one?" I asked, handing her Maritza's ring.

Ty walked over and looked at my choice, although noting the gray color of my face. "You okay, Bosco? You look like you seen a ghost or something."

I nodded, trying to get my breathing back to normal. _It's okay. It's not the same guy. It's not him. Don't panic._

I swallowed nervously and tried to concentrate on the task at hand. There was no way that this was the same guy. It couldn't be. The man who had held me prisoner had a deeper voice, but this man had a gravely voice, almost like his windpipe had been crushed in some kind of accident. It was deep but raspy. There was no doubt in my mind that I had heard that voice before. Maybe it wasn't even anything to do with my own case.

I pushed my thoughts aside as Joyce complimented me on my choice of a ring and told me that it was the same size as the ring I had given her. A size six, which was quite small but Maritza had very slender fingers. I shelled out four-teen hundred dollars, which earned me a black velvet box to hold the prize, and paid the woman and we left the store.

And instead of thinking about how I was going to ask Maritza to marry me, my thoughts carried me back to a year ago, when I was in a dark basement praying to God that someone would find me before I was dead.


End file.
